Champion
by AMMC
Summary: The coliseum of Nordopolica had seen its fair share of people, but still: why on earth was there a kid in the arena? “...There’s no way a runt like you can take part in this sort of event,” ... “I’m gonna do it! I’m gonna win!”


Champion

_A __**Tales of Vesperia**__ Story_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Vesperia, and this story is for free entertainment purposes only._

Summary: Nordopolica was always famous for its grand coliseum and the fights which took place there. The strongest warriors from the world over would always arrive in order to prove to everyone, and themselves, that they most definitely are among the most powerful people in the world. The coliseum had seen its fair share of people, but still: why on earth was there a kid in the arena? _"...There's no way a runt like you can take part in this sort of event,"_ ..._ "I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna win!"_

~~~~~~~~~~~T a l e s~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o f~~~~~~~~~~~~~~V e s p e r i a~~~~~~~~~

Nordopolica was a famous place, with its one-of-a-kind landmark—their beloved coliseum—and thus had all sorts of people entering its borders, both the normal and the rather... eccentric. Indeed, the place was always bustling with activity, similar to that of Dahngrest, most likely because both were run by guilds. So, really, she shouldn't have been surprised when this person asked if they could enter one of the contests. But she was. And from the looks of things, so were her fellow receptionists that stood by her side.

"E-excuse me, but I don't think I quite heard you there. What did you just say?" she requested, hesitantly. Surely, what she had heard and what he had just asked had to have been two _very_ different things.

"Well, I said _"I would like to sign up for the 100-man melee"._" She had heard right after all.

The receptionist looked down at the person before her, a dubious expression etched onto her face. Before her was a kid who couldn't be older than 12 of 13, bearing a rather strange haircut (she had seen weirder, but that wasn't the point). Thinking about it, he seemed to have passed here before, with that Yuri-something, but that also was going off into a different direction. There was only one point that could be stated about something like this.

A child had asked if he could participate in the dangerous event that was known as the 100-man melee. A child. Although her job was to convince people to join the tournaments, no matter how dangerous they may be, even she had some pride.

"I'm sorry, but there is no way I can let someone like yourself enter," she answered bluntly. Hopefully the kid would take a hint and get out of here, but it seemed he was going to be having none of it.

"But... why not? I've got the fee to enter... Oh come on, you can't mean that I can't enter because I'm a—" A quick nod followed by her shooing him away. The boy clenched his fists tightly, restraining himself as best as he could. He had to enter! He'd promised someone he would. If she didn't let him enter, they'll think he was running away again. Before the boy could spit out another retort, though, someone else had entered the scene.

"What seems to be the problem?" Natz said, upon being told that there was some sort of commotion at the entry area. Both the receptionist and the boy turned in surprise at his voice. Were they making so much of a racket that he had to come and see what was going on? The receptionist seemed to regain control of her voice first, as she said,

"This child is requesting that he enter the 100-man melee, which is just unacceptable, sir. I've been refusing him entry, but he seems persistent enough to refuse to leave...sir." Fixing her hair to distract herself from Natz's gaze, the woman stopped there. Natz would be able to convince the kid that the 100-man melee really wasn't something he could do at his age and get him to leav—

"Let him enter," the man said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. The receptionist could only stare at the man in astonishment while the kid seemed to be jumping for joy.

"B-but sir... he's just a ki—" Natz shook his head, not bothering to deal with the woman's excuses, instead deciding to stare at the boy, silently asking 'are you sure?' A nod was his only response. The woman sighed, "What competition will you be entering?"

"The 100-man melee!"

"And who will be participating?"

"Karol. Karol Capel, leader of Brave Vesperia!"

_

* * *

Karol was pacing back and forth before the entrance. He had been given an hour before he was to enter the arena to simply prepare and make sure he was wearing his best armour and equipped with his strongest weapon and such, but he had finished up in less than five minutes, leaving him with absolutely nothing to do to kill the time while he waited._

So he was left with just walking around for a while.

"Man, what have I got myself into?" he mumbled to himself. Very few people attempted the 100-man melee because of its incredible difficulty (there apparently hadn't been a challenger for it since the Great War). It was why it made so much money for the coliseum, since not many people dared to risk it. Not even Yuri or Judith seemed too keen on the idea (**not yet, anyway—seriously, those two love fighting a bit too much**) and yet here he was, about to have one of the most dangerous, longest and exhilarating fights of his life. M-maybe he shouldn't actually do this...

"Karol! Karol, there you are!" a girl's voice cried, undoubtedly gaining the attention of everyone gathered there. The boy in question turned around in surprise. That most definitely had to be Estelle! But... if Estelle's here, then that means that... everyone...

"Come on, Estelle. Not too loudly—the Boss already has a lot on his mind, no need to pressure him anymore," a sarcastic voice could be heard. Yuri, without a doubt.

"It's okay. Estelle's just trying to cheer Karol up, right?" From that tone, it had to be Judith.

"Well, the kid shouldn't be trying to do something crazy like this! What is with him and his little one-man crusades, anyway?" No need to guess that one.

"Ah, ta be young and reckless again. The ladies do love a daredevil, don't they?" Stupid old man, getting the wrong idea!

A dog's barking could be heard, worrying Karol a tiny bit—Repede wasn't agreeing with the old man, was he? No no, couldn't be. Deciding that he should probably answer them soon, the kid nervously waved to them, calling them over. There wasn't any need, as the motley crew had already started coming towards him.

"H-hey guys. What's up Estelle?" he asked, shaking a little bit. Damn, his nerves were starting to get the better of him again. Karol shook his head firmly to himself, completely disregarding his friends for a moment. The group couldn't help but glance at each other thanks to his odd behaviour. The fact that Karol of all people would be entering the 100-man melee... The princess gave the boy a concerned look, and was about say something until she was interrupted.

"You aren't seriously going to enter, are you? There's no way a runt like you can take part in this sort of event," Rita claimed ever-so bluntly. Estelle looked shocked, horrified even, at her friend's outburst. While she herself was also a little dubious about the whole idea, there was no need to say it like _that_. The rest of the party also seemed to agree, seeing the hurt expression on Karol's face. Estelle, in her typical 'far too kind' style, took it upon herself to rephrase the blunt mage's words.

"Well, Karol," she started, "what Rita meant to say was that, we're not exactly sure if you're up to the challenge. I-it's not that we don't believe in you or anything! It's just..." Unable to continue, Estelle looked up (when had she hung her head?) to Karol. And was surprised at what she saw.

Karol seemed to be bright with determination, a cocky grin on his face. He had most certainly seemed to have gotten over any nervousness he had been feeling not too long ago as he rubbed his nose, chuckling. In comparison to when Estelle had first met him, he seemed to come off as a whole lot more confident, and was certainly more powerful.

"Sorry, guys," Karol declared, "but I can't back out now. I promised someone that I would do this, and I'm not gonna run away." He shook his head with pride, closing his eyes for a moment, before opening them wide and, nearly shouting,

"I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna win!"

The princess was clearly taken aback, but was somehow inspired at the same time—even though everyone was saying it and how obvious it was, she was still amazed at how much Karol had grown up through their adventure. But, who on earth had he promised to enter such a thing? Before she could ask though, she was, once again, beaten to the punch.

"So, you promised that Nan girl that would you enter, Karol? That's so sweet," Judith said, smiling. At this, Karol started blushing furiously and trying to defend himself through random gibberish as the rest of the party began to laugh and encourage him.

"So ya already have your eyes set on someone, kid? Ya sure work fast. Ol' Raven the Great here could give ya some advice on the ladies if ya want," Raven said, stroking his chin. That seemed to be the last straw for Karol, who had regained some composure. So he replied

"Oh Karol! You're doing it to show you love for Nan? Oh that's so sweet! I'm rooting for you~!" Wait, that wasn't him.

"Huh? G-guys, you've got it all wrong! Damn it, listen to me here! I-"

"Oi, Capel kid! It's time for you to come up!" The man in front of the entrance to the arena yelled, stopping the gang from talking anymore. Karol simply nodded to him while the rest started to say to him that they'll be watching in the audience, and with Estelle saying something like 'Good luck on getting Nan, Karol!' Waving them off, Karol walked to the door, and, before being allowed to enter, the guard said to Karol a simple "Try not to die."

He gulped.

_

* * *

__She sat on the bench, waiting for the event to start. Her legs were swinging, nervousness coursing through her—is it him? Did he really do it? If not, she was going to give up on him. Unable to keep even one promise—if he did a no-show, she was... she was... agh!_

"Ladies and gentleman! It's the moment you've all been waiting for! At long last, someone has dared to challenge the 100-man melee!" the commentator's voice could be heard from all over the coliseum, Karol reluctantly noticed. He wasn't feeling so sure about this anymore, but it was too late to back ou—no! He wasn't going to run away again! Stop thinking about running away!

"...welcome Karol Capel, leader of Brave Vesperia!" He looked up and stared at all the dubious faces before, whispering to each other.

"Is this kid for real?"

"This has got to be some sort of joke..."

"You're pulling our legs, aren't you?"

Karol shivered a little bit, having seemed to only realise that the people were probably expecting a fighter like Yuri to take to the stage. But alas, he was here now, and nothing was going to stop him, not even these people!

"A-anyway, people, this is our _actual_ contestant... So now, let us begin! Will Karol Capel succumb to the challenge before him, or will he come out victorious? Only one way to find out, everyone! Fight!"

And with that, the first showing of the 100-man melee since the Great War had begun.

_

* * *

__Her nerves hadn't gotten any better, surprisingly. She thought that she might have calmed down once the thing had started, but that hadn't worked. So her Plan B was to try and ask one of the people who had fought the challenger was, but apparently he was a lot stronger than expected—he had rendered them all unconscious, and there was no hope of them getting up before she was to fight too. She sighed._

"Rending Drop!" Karol screamed as he had attacked another monster that stood in his way. The creature gave a pathetic cry of anguish before dying. This fate was soon shared with others, falling prey to the boy's axe. Despite that sick feeling in his stomach when he first started, Karol had really got into the swing of things, quickly defeating his opponents before they could even lay a scratch on him. Heck, the fight with those two knights (Adecor and Boccos, was it?) hadn't even posed that much of a problem, despite the fact that one of them had gone overlimit. Indeed everything seemed to be going quite nicely so far, having defeated about 30. He still had long way to go, but as long as he had that promise to fulfil and his friends behind him—

"Come on Karol! You can do it!"

"Don't stop now, you little runt!"

"You can do it, Karol."

"Show them what you're made of, Boss!"

"Come on now, don't disappoint this old man!"

"Woof!"

Everything would be just fine.

_She was already being called out to take her place—the challenger was apparently going through this a lot quicker than anticipated, and it wasn't going to be long before she too had to fight. Walking quickly, her weapon gripped tightly in her hands, she arrived at the entrance. A guard was stationed there, and, upon seeing her arrival, told her to hurry and get on that battlefield and to fight. There was no time to hesitate—there was only time to fight and defeat her opponent, whoever they may be._

Karol swung his axe with ease, cutting down yet another monster. That was his 36th, meaning he still had a fair bit to go. But it should be fine so long as no one particularly tough showed up.

"Here I go!" He spoke too soon.

Karol turned around to see the new person who had entered the ring and could hardly believe his eyes. Of all people, why did it have to be her?

"N-Nan! What are you doing here?" he dared to ask, whilst taking down another monster before him. Truth be told, he wasn't exactly expecting a reply, since this was Nan we were talking about, but he couldn't stop himself from asking. Why was she here? Clearly not in the mood to talk, Nan threw her weapon, aiming straight for him. Karol narrowly ducked the _chakram_, whilst swinging his axe swiftly to take down several monsters before him, leaving him and Nan as the only people on the field. Looking around to see if anyone else was going to come out, he decided that he would probably have to beat Nan before he could continue. "Nan," he began, "why ask me to do this if you were just going to fight me here?" No reply. Sighing, Karol began to move forward to her; wary of when she would throw that chakram at him again (she must have gotten a hold of it boomerang style when he was attacking those monsters a moment ago).

"Because... I wanted to see how much you've grown, Karol... I wanted to see if you've changed at all!" Whoa! Karol very nearly tripped over his own two feet in shock. Was Nan actually willing to speak to him? Shaking his head, Karol tried to reason with her.

"I get that but... do we have to fight? Nan!" Dodging to the left to avoid another hit, Karol grimaced as the chakram grazed his cheek a bit. The cut wasn't too deep, but obviously deep enough to draw blood.

"Hurry up and fight me, Karol! I won't be able to rest easy until we do!" Nan shouted, stubborn as ever. Chanting a spell while waiting for her weapon to come back to her, she ignored anymore of Karol's pleas to stop. "Sharpen thy rage and run them through! Stalagmite!"

Sharp rocks sprouted out from the grounds, winding Karol as he was thrown into the air. Somehow landing on his feet whilst gasping for air, the boy attempted to roll to the side, barely able to dodge another hit by Nan's chakram. He really should heal now...

"Nice Aid Smash!" A quick hit to the ground, and the cuts were gone. The places where he got bruised a bit were still a little sore, but nothing much. He looked up to Nan again—she was serious, and, out of respect, he really had to go serious too. "I don't really see why... but..." This didn't seem to please Nan, who quickly shouted as she threw her chakram at him once again.

"Doesn't matter, Karol! Just... Come on!" Seeing another impending blow, Karol panicked a little before sliding to the right and charging at her, another question already on the tip of his tongue

"W-why are you so mad about this?" No more words were exchanged between the two—only strong, devastating blows.

In the crowds, the very varied group under the name 'Brave Vesperia' (even if they weren't all members of the guild) were left debating among themselves over how Karol would fare against Nan.

"I know he's fought Nan before, but we were with him at the time! How will he cope?" Estelle said, worry all over her face. Oh, poor Karol... After he promised that he would enter just for her, as well...

"Well, it is obvious that the kid likes her, so he might hold back on her a little," Rita mumbled, really unsure of how to go about this. The girl was part of the Hunting Blades, and in their encounters with them, she was clearly strong. But the kid could also pack a punch.

"Well well, genius mage! Do I detect a little... jealousy? Ha ha, ta think I'd see tha d-ow!" Armed with a sturdy book, so could she.

"You walked into that one, old man," Yuri said, shaking his head at the Raven's antics. "But Karol here's grown up a bit. It'll be hard, but I think he'll win." Judith nodded in agreement, before she, herself added;

"Yes. Karol has done a lot better than I expected—if he can get past Nan, then I think he could probably win this." Mumbles of agreement were heard among them, as well as some cursing (Rita can hit pretty hard with a book).

In the arena, the two warriors were still fighting against each other. Nan had to admit, Karol had got better during his absence, but there was no way he could beat her without his friends. He couldn't. He just... couldn't!

'**A little bit more, and I'll get my opening, then I'll knock him out flat with Rending Slash...'** the girl thought, back-stepping away from horizontal swipe from Karol's axe. The boy simply moved forward to attack again, raising the axe above his head.

'**There!'**

Nan kicked Karol's legs in a sharp sweep kick before jumping back just a little to avoid any confrontations with that axe. Karol obviously hadn't anticipated the possible assault, as he crumbled to the ground. She smirked—**still falling for the same old tricks, eh, Karol?**—before jumping into the air and flipping herself upside down. Crying out her attack, Nan's chakram slammed right into Karol's side, knocking him right out, and leaving her upside down for a few minutes as she struggled to get back onto her feet again.

At least that was what was supposed to happen.

"Huh?" was all Nan could really say for herself. She hadn't hit Karol at all, and was now stuck in the ground upside down, holding on to her chakram pretty tightly to make sure she didn't fall down in some sort of heap on the floor. Struggling to get herself back into her fighting stance, Nan could only stare at the boy when she finally saw him, his fists clenched. It seemed he had been able to recover a lot quicker then she had estimated

"Sorry, Nan. I'm going to win this, just like I promised," was all she heard him say before everything went dark.

_

* * *

_

Nan groaned. Her head was absolutely throbbing, and her body seemed a little heavy. What a pain. As a member of the Hunting Blades, these little injuries were nothing a little First Aid couldn't heal. But first, she should get up, from where ever she was sitting. It was only a few minutes afterwards that Nan remembered quite what happened. Karol Capel had dodged her attack unscathed, and then had proceeded to punch her lights out...

She screamed.

_

* * *

Karol swung his axe down with more force, panting a little for air. He had been fighting for a good 10 minutes now, and he was starting to tire a bit, especially considering some of his opponents. Tison had showed no mercy to him whatsoever, using his mystic arte on him without a second thought. Gauche and Droite had been even worse, with them being able to properly cooperate with one another (the fact he had survived their Impact Cross still surprised him). But with this, there wasn't much left to go. Just about 15 more opponents and it would be over. Just a... little more... and victory would be his!_

Another swing, another cry as the monster's remains were reduced to ashes—Y'know, one of these days he was going figure out why they did that—and another enemy down. So close... So close!

_

* * *

"I can't believe this!" Nan cried out in the infirmary. How could she lose to Karol by himself? Yes, he has gotten stronger—a __lot_ stronger—but that was... it was... agh! Why was he so damn confusing! It wasn't fair, it just wasn't! Karol... when had he...?

Deciding to take actions rather than to just sit by and twiddle her thumbs in defeat, Nan proceeded to stomp right out of the medical wing. During the raid on Nordopolica, she had made a mental note of where they kept the weapons. A little random, yes, especially since they had believed at the time that this would most likely be the end of the coliseum, but, hey, what can you do? Walking onward, it wasn't long before she could hear some nurses gossiping about something or other. Ah well, it probably wasn't worth her time to listen to such drivel.

"...see her? That Hunting Blades girl?" Take back that last statement.

"Ah, yes, that one. Quite fortunate I hear," a second woman chimed.

"From the look of her injuries, I would say that the little fighter went easy on her," a third one called out. Delving more into the subject, the three woman were completely ignorant to the girl's feelings. Go easy on her? He held back? That little... what was he thinking?

"I heard that the girl also held back—she's a Hunting Blade after all. She didn't even use her Mystic Arte on him. I bet if she had, he probably been knocked out."

"But a fellow member, that Tison person,"**—Master?!**—"and those girls used their Mystic Artes on him, and he managed to get out of those..."

No more. She couldn't listen to it anymore. Her brisk walk turned into a full-out run. The quicker she got out of there, the quicker she would collect her equipment. And the quicker she collected her equipment, the quicker it would be to go out into the field once more. She hadn't meant it, but it seemed she had unintentionally held back against him. Well, no more! She wouldn't do that anymore! Even if it was Karo—ah, why the hell does she care so much if it's Karol or not? That... idiot!

_

* * *

_

"Come on, Karol! You can do it!" Estelle all but shouted, attempting to be heard over the roaring of the spectators. He was doing it! Karol was actually doing! After all those Mystic Artes and that fight with Nan, he was finally at the end. Everyone seemed to also be happy at his success—Repede's tail was wagging like nuts, Judith was smiling sincerely, Raven had one of his small, honest smiles plastered on his face and Rita seemed genuinely happy. In fact, the only person who seemed a bit down was, "Yuri? Is something wrong?"

The ex-knight seemed to snap out of whatever train of thought he was in, as he turned to Estelle. How odd to see such a thoughtful expression on Yuri's face, seeing as how he always acted first and thought later, normally.

"What's up, Estelle? Something wrong?" he asked, smiling. Estelle stared him down a little, making him a little nervous. Finally getting frustrated, he asked a simple "What?" The princess shook her head, trying to figure out the right words.

"Well, it's just that... Karol's doing so well, but you don't seem okay. Is something wrong?" she asked innocently. Yuri frowned a tiny bit. Should he tell her? Huh, guessing how she caught him out, he might as well start speaking now.

"I... was just thinking about these familiar faces in the coliseum," he stated. Estelle tilted her head to the side for a moment, her eyes urging Yuri to continue. "Well, before hand, all of them had given us a letter of challenge. So, the only one who hasn't shown up yet is..." Estelle finally caught on.

"Flynn..." He nodded. Both grew silent after that. Flynn was strong, that was for sure. If Karol had to fight him, he might not be able to win. It... would be hard to watch a fight like that, and without a doubt would Flynn feel pretty bad about the whole affair...

_

* * *

_

Flynn Scifo was not pleased. He was the Commandant, the very leader of the knights and one of His Highness Ioder's most trusted men. He was the very image that the knights would aspire to be. But even he needed a bit of time off. Just a little. So he had decided that he would face his best friend in the coliseum (again, although under different circumstances) when he would attempt the 100-man melee. Flynn had no doubt in his mind that he would be able to make it that far, and, seeing as how his bounty hadn't technically come off yet, he was still a wanted man, giving Flynn the perfect excuse to fight in the arena.

But it wasn't Yuri attempting the 100-man melee.

No, it just _had_ to be the child, Karol. He knew the boy could fend for himself, seeing as how he was still travelling with Yuri after everything, and was with such an odd group, but... there was no way he could bring himself to fight against him, what with his age. It would be the same with Rita, with her being quite young as well. There was no way he could fight Lady Estellise, pure and simple, fighting Sir Schwa—uh, Raven, would be awkward, he doubted he could properly fight Repede and with that Judith person... he would worry where his eyes would wander (Sodia would knock him out then lecture him if she heard that...) so really, he could only fight Yuri, seeing as how he was used to doing it.

Now how to get around this situation... his pride wouldn't let him ask someone to take his place, but he just could not think of himself fighting Karol. If so, then how else could he get around it? Sure, he may actually be unable to finish the fight, but Flynn highly doubted that, seeing as how he had made it this far. Honestly, just how was he going to get around this...?

"Hey, you can't go there! You've already been out in the arena!" a guard could be heard yelling, pulling Flynn out of his thoughts. Acting in his usual knightly-fashion, he quickly walked over to where he believed all the commotion was about. There was the guard there and a... young girl? Whatever was going on, the two were obviously arguing about something, and Flynn couldn't really stand by now, could he?

"What seems to be the problem?" he called out, his voice sounding rather assertive. The guard looked to the man, about to start pointing fingers when the girl simply used this chance to run past him. Surprised, Flynn stopped her out of reflex before recognising her. She was that... Nan girl, right? Yeah, she had to be, no doubt about it. Though, she didn't seem to look in her best condition, seeing as how she was limping a little. "What," he started, looking at her, "seems to be the problem?"

"I have to fight Karol!" was her only response—and what a quick one!—but it wasn't much for the knight to go on.

"Why?" was all he asked. At this, the girl stopped any form of struggle and just stood there, head down. If Flynn had tried looking a little harder, he might have been able to see the faintest blush on her face, the way her lips quivered slightly, and how her eyes seemed so confused. But he didn't, so he was left waiting there until the guard spoke up.

"Uh, Sir Flynn? I think it's about time you went out there to fight..." he trailed off, feeling a little out of place. The knight nodded, drawing his sword, while the girl seemed to have snapped out of whatever it was she was in and was about to rebel any second. She had to fight him, full force this time! And he better not go easy on her. She grabbed onto the knight's armour in an attempt to stop him. His only response was the raising of his sword, surprising both her and the guard. She knew the knights hated the guilds, but still... he wouldn't—!

"Holy power, come! First Aid!" Nan blinked. Did he just... heal her? Looking up, she saw him smiling at her, nodding his head towards the entrance to the arena. Muttering a quick thank you and a little bow, she ran off. The guard, however, wasn't quite as impressed.

"Why'd you do that? She's already been out there," he scolded. Flynn simply shook his head. He would have preferred to have dealt with the situation differently, but... she had seemed so determined to go out and fight, and there was no way his knightly honour would allow him to simply refuse. But he wasn't exactly sure as to why she wanted to fight Karol so badly...

Guess that would just be another thing he wouldn't understand about women.

_

* * *

_

Karol attacked once more, taking down yet another foe, hearing it cry before it disappeared in a bright flash. He was breathing heavily now, looking around. The battlefield was empty now, leaving him just standing there like he had at the beginning. It seemed as if he had taken everyone down, by the supposed lack of opponents to face. But, that in itself was odd—hadn't he only defeated 99? Where was the last person?

"And now, ladies and gentleman..." Uh oh, the commentator was speaking. This can't be good. "As we have seen, Karol Capel has been able to defeat every enemy before him, no matter how hard it got! And now, his final obstacle before he can defeat the 100-man melee, allow me to introduce, Sir Flynn Sci—"

"Coming through!" Another voice rudely interrupted. Karol may have physically face-palmed at this voice, but he wasn't sure. He had... but... she... why was this happening?

"Hey, Nan, didn't I already beat you!?" He yelled before he could think about it. Making him prove he had grown up by doing the 100-man melee, only to constantly attempt to beat him herself! What was going through her head?

Nan herself had no idea what she was doing—all she could feel was everyone staring at her, which, under normal circumstances, wouldn't really have bothered her, but... the way Karol was just staring like that... she could already feel her cheeks burning. Oh, what the guild would do if they found out...

"I-I was holding back last time! Come on Karol, or are you afraid I'll beat you this time?!" was the only response she could come up with, readying herself. The boy shook his head in frustration. What was she thinking, coming in twice?

"Why do you want to fight me so bad?!" he yelled, holding his axe firmly in his hands. Damn, she really wanted to fight him, didn't she?

"...I..." **like strong men... like Master... no no no, I can't say that! Not to **_**him**_**!** "I want to see if you really have changed! If it wasn't some sort of fluke that last fight! To see if you were finally going to stop running away! Karol... show me how strong you are now!" Karol (and everyone else watching, for that matter) was surprised. Yes, she had said that before, the last time, but... she really was serious, wasn't she?

She actually _cared_ about him.

"I... see," was all Karol could say. A smile playing on his lips as he resigned himself to his fate, Karol got ready. "Alright Nan! No holding back! From either of us!" he shouted, getting ready to begin. Nan nodded, holding her own weapon firmly. The crowd started chanting behind them, getting into the mood. Both competitors braced themselves. This was it... the final fight.

"Who will win? Karol Capel, leader of Brave Vesperia, who had fought his way from the beginning to get to this place? Or will it be Nan, one of the highest ranking members in the Hunting Blades, who is finally going to go all out? We're about to find out, people! This is the final fight, to see if someone has finally conquered the 100-man melee since the Great War!"

"Heaven or Hell... Fight!"

_

* * *

_

Yuri watched and stared at the fight before him. Indeed, Karol and Nan were going at each other a lot harder than the first time they had thought, with a look on their faces that implied that they were thoroughly enjoying this (although he doubted the girl would admit it—seriously, why were all the girls he seemed to come across these days incredibly stubborn or somewhat violent?) despite the reluctance at first. But that wasn't exactly what Yuri was worried about.

That man... he had most definitely mentioned Flynn being the original final opponent. This meant that Flynn was here. And, if Yuri could recall correctly, he still had that bounty on his head. This can't be good.

"What on earth is he doing?" the swordsman wondered aloud. Flynn was a workaholic, Yuri knew. But Yuri also knew that even the all-mighty Flynn needed a break, leaving him wondering if Flynn was here on business or was relaxing and had wanted to fight himself in the coliseum. Or both.

"_He_ was here to face a certain Yuri Lowell, seeing as how it is his job to put highly dangerous criminals in jail." Yuri turned around, preparing himself for the inevitable banter he was about to have, ignoring the looks he was getting from his group.

"Ah, that's too bad, _Sir _Flynn Scifo. I heard he'll be the second challenger to the 100-man melee. Don't worry, I'll send him a message—he'll be so happy at the thought of kicking your ass again, believe me," Yuri replied, grinning. It hadn't been all that long since he and Flynn had spoken to each other, but since they never really got to see each other unless they were both busy, this was a little different. Flynn seemed to think this too, judging by how he was smiling a little. The knight walked a little closer to the group so that he was standing beside them. The rest of the group hadn't really noticed, or at least didn't give any signs that they had, so basically Yuri and Flynn were able to talk to each other.

"I didn't think that the boy, Karol, would be the first one of you lot to try the 100-man melee," Flynn admitted, looking at the fight. From the looks of things, Nan had just kicked Karol back before trying another spell which was interrupted in no time. Yuri grunted.

"Oh? You thought it was going to be me first?" The knight nodded. Yuri turned around again to see the fight, actually flinching at the kick Nan had just delivered to Karol's chest—no doubt would he feel _that_ in the morning. "Well, maybe I would have been the first to try if Captain Karol was still the same," Yuri started, a proud smile beginning to make its way across his face, "but he's grown up a lot. It's not really all that surprising anymore."

More silence between the two as they watched. Karol had recovered pretty well and had attacked Nan before she could finish her healing arte, knocking her back a little. They were fighting on close quarters again, narrowly avoiding each other's blow while attempting to counter. Flynn chuckled.

"He's been around you too long; he's starting to pick up your habits," he laughed, earning himself a glare from the swordsman. The knight was unaffected, having been on the receiving end of that glare many times now. Soon the laughs were over, and on his face was a worryingly serious expression, quite a contrast from his laughing face. "So, how are you doing with trying to get to Tarqaron?" he asked seriously. Yuri looked away for a moment, his face scrunching up in dissatisfaction.

"We're still trying to finish up some loose ends before we go. We have to be completely prepared," the swordsman replied matter-of-factly. The two remained quiet, watching the fight, now in an attempt to avoid looking upward at the beast in the sky.

On the battlefield, Karol grunted. That last hit had been pretty sore—his body was beginning to ache. He had to finish this, and soon, before she had another oppurtuni—

Nan was right in his face, glowing a little. Oh for the love of—when had she gone overlimit?

"I've had enough of you!" she cried, freezing movement itself. Karol cursed. Not another Mystic Arte! Being hit by two in the same day was bad enough, but at this distance? This was going to hurt.

In typical Mystic Arte style, the arena soon grew black, with Nan in the centre. She concentrated pure power into the ground, creating a mist of purple and pink. Placing her chakram around her (hoola-hoop style, Karol bizarrely thought) she suddenly began spinning at incredible speeds. Karol couldn't help but let out grunts of pains as he was repetitively hit, getting sent higher into the air with each blow. Bracing himself as best as he could, Karol grimaced as he could _feel_ the aer around Nan building up.

"Soaring Raptor Blast!" she cried. With one final spin, she released all the bundled energy, sending Karol flying half way down the arena. The whole crowd could be heard saying a sympathetic 'ouch' as the boy skidded across the arena. Karol was left twitching in pain, struggling to get himself up. That had been a devastating blow, and, without a doubt, had she used that the first time, he probably would have been knocked out without any resistance.

Karol began to regret holding back in their first fight.

"Come on, Karol! You can do it!"

"Estelle's right! You can't just let it go now, Captain Karol!"

"You've come so far Karol. You're going to stand up, right?"

"Don't just sit there, you little runt! Why do you always have to be a hero, anyway?"

"Ah, what a shame. Ta think tha kid thought about givin' up. Tragic, I tell ya."

"Woof! Woof woof, grr... Woof"

The boy in question laughed a little to himself. Did it really look like he was giving up? If so, then he was just going to have to prove them wrong now, wasn't he? Because with his friends here, there was nothing that could stand in his way. Nothing.

"N-no way..." Karol breathed, ignoring every screaming cell in his body. "I told you... that I would win, right?" He picked up his heavy axe in both hands. "I told you guys... that I," Standing up tall, Karol finally shouted

"I can do this!" Oh man, it seemed he had gone overlimit by mistake. But a good mistake, nonetheless.

Nan looked surprised for a moment. She had hit him pretty hard, in an honest attempt to knock him out. But looking at him now, it was as if he hadn't even been touched. When had he...? No, no, that wasn't the point now. She had to avoid him, since he could combo pretty well now. He's close combat, so if she just stayed away, then it would be alright. And...wait, why were there three baseballs coming right at her?

Attempting to avoid getting hit by them, Nan clenched her teeth when she got hit by one on the arm. That had been pretty hard, actually. Trying to get her wits about her, the girl could only look up in surprise. Karol was right in fron—!

"Hammer Flow Upper!" he cried, swinging his axe down and quickly lifting it up, throwing Nan into the air. The area dimmed suddenly, Nan noticed. Not enough for a Mystic Arte, though... what was this?

"Rise up," Karol said to her as Nan began to fall. Swirling around, his axe stretched out, Karol began to gather aer, before crying out "Ultra Punishing Typhoon!" Releasing the gathered aer, Karol spun around even more wildly, creating a miniature tornado, cutting Nan several times. Nan gave a groan as she was thrown to the ground, unprepared for what Karol said next

"And now, here it goes! Everything I've got!" W-what?!

The area grew dark, leaving only Karol and Nan on the field. Karol had put his axe away into his bag, preparing himself. Somehow selecting four items in his bag, he threw up an orange guitar, an oversized... _pink lollipop_, a green wrench and an orange and white drilling hammer, before following suit. Nan could only stare in astonishment (at Karol, the lollipop, and the orangey-brown strips all around him) at this Mystic Arte, before attempting to brace herself. This was... he wasn't going to... ooohh dear...

"1! 2! 3!" Karol yelled as he threw the first three items in rapid succession, each causing individual explosions. Nan gritted her teeth, wincing at the pain. If Karol was just going to throw the fourth one down the same way, then, while it may hurt, she would be able to survive and counter-attack. But what was he going to do with that drill hammer?

Focusing as much aer as he could into his hands, Karol prepared himself as he began to hold the drill hammer. Raising it well above his head as he himself began to descend, Karol shouted

"Overlord Reign... Impact!"

The hammer collided with the ground at amazing speeds. The earth was cracked up, with rocks sent flying into the air in every direction. Nan gave one last cry as she was hit multiple times before finally collapsing. There was no way she could move after that, no matter how much she should struggle. The match—no, the whole tournament was now officially over.

Karol Capel, leader of Brave Vesperia, a 13-year-old child, had just won the 100-man melee.

Karol had been left there, making sure Nan was okay—he hadn't even realised he could perform a Mystic Arte, so doing one at the very end like that... he hoped Nan was okay—when it finally dawned on him that he had won. The crowds were cheering like nuts, calling out his name in some sort of chant. He turned, eyes wide. He'd done it... He'd actually done it! Jumping in joy for a moment, he turned to Nan, smiling.

"Told you I'd win," he said, using a Nice Curing Smash to help her cuts heal. Face red, Nan accepted his hand as he pulled her up. Fumbling about nervously, she picked up her weapon awkwardly, trying to say something.

"Karol, I—"

"Karol!" Estelle shouted, hugging the boy in a tight grip. The rest of his friends weren't far behind, ignoring the rules which the coliseum took great pride in. Congratulating him in their own little way, everyone pretty much forgot about Nan, who was still standing there a little awkwardly, still in a bit of pain. When the princess finally remembered about her, she instantly ran up to heal her with her artes, smiling as she did so.

"I think tha kid would like a _little_ private time, with the girl, I think. Already a player—he's growing up so fast," Raven commented, already walking away the scene with a mysterious smile on his face. Yuri laughed, walking after Raven, Repede following him. Rita simply shrugged and followed, while Judith winked before walking off. Estelle held Nan's hands, saying how good a person Karol was, and, when it finally looked as if she would leave, she whispered to Karol a 'good luck~!' before running off to join everybody, leaving Karol and Nan alone again. Shuffling from foot to foot, suddenly realising the situation, Karol was the first to speak.

"So Nan, um... what was it you were going to say?" Nan blushed, turning away from Karol. Huffing a little, she said

"W-well, what I was going to say was..." **You've gotten so strong it's almost unfair... You even defeated Master...** "...You may have defeated me today, but you're to have to train a lot more! And next time you see me, I'll be stronger too, so you try as well, Karol!" And with that, Nan was gone, having run off very quickly in the opposite direction that Yuri and the others and went, leaving behind one very confused Karol.

"Man, what's her problem?" he wondered aloud, scratching his head. He soon walked off following his friends and off to collect his prizes.

_

* * *

_

"So, Karol, how does it feel to be the champion of the 100-man melee?" Judith asked, smiling at the boy. It hadn't really sunk in for him yet, so he simply mumbled something or other about that it felt pretty good. The group laughed a little, talking about the subject a little longer. Chatting around, and poking a little fun at the boy and his relationship with Nan ("I do NOT have a crush on her! Stop getting the wrong idea, you guys! H-hey Rita, don't hit me! Ow! Rita, you suck!") whilst congratulating him on his Mystic Arte.

"So, tell us Yuri; why was your knight friend talkin' with ya?" Raven asked out of the blue, stopping all conversation. Flynn was there? When? Turning to the swordsman, everyone had a look of expectation, with Raven and Judith bearing an 'I-know-all' sort of look. Yuri laughed a bit.

"He thought I was going to be the first person to try the 100-man melee, so he was so disappointed at the fact I couldn't kick his ass. So I'm going to try the 100-man melee myself tomorrow like I said."

"Oh, really? Well then, would it be okay if I had a shot too? Seeing it for myself when Karol was doing made it seem so fun."

"I bet ya didn't know, but if three people beat the 100-man melee within a years' time, tha coliseum opens the 200-man melee event—every guild members dream!"

"Don't say that, you'll give the runt ideas, as well as those two fighting addicts! Now we're gonna be stuck here for ages, you stupid old man!"

"Ah, Rita! There's no need to hit Raven! And I think that Karol could do the 200-man melee if he wanted too, or if he promised Nan again!"

"Yeah, he didn't seem ta get her did he? Shame, kid, but ya got to keep on trying!"

"200-man melee? That sounds interesting, but wouldn't we need some more people?"

"How very perceptive of you, my darlin' Judith! You'd need another letter of challenge, I think."

"This sounds like fun! What do you think, Captain Karol?... Karol? Karol!"

Amidst all their talk about the 200-man melee and how Karol should enter it, it seemed the boy had finally realised properly what he had just done and had been left a stuttering mess. Unable to speak properly, Karol gave out a small 'eek' before promptly fainting on the spot. The group sighed, laughing a little at how Estelle was panicking like nuts and how Rita was trying to calm her down.

All in all, it was another ordinary day in the life of Brave Vesperia.

_**Fin**_

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AN: Since I don't personally know the name of Nan's weapon, I'm simply calling it a chakram since it was the closest name I could find. If you do know the proper name for her weapon, please tell me and I'll change it. Thank you.

Also, if it caused any confusion, Rending Slash is the move Nan uses which has her hit the enemy head first, but leaves her directly upside down for a moment (something you need take advantage of if you want to get her Secret Mission).


End file.
